Afghan pilots begin to leave Uzbekistan for UAE, despite Taliban source of pressure

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 (Reuters) – Afghan pilots and other U.S.-trained personnel detained in an Uzbek camp for about a month began leaving the country on Sunday, one of the pilots told Reuters under an agreement with the United States that came despite the Taliban returning Afghans and their planes.

The first group, at least, is initially targeting the UAE, the pilot said, on condition of anonymity. The move was expected to take place in several waves, starting on Sunday and ending the next day approximately.

Reuters was the first to report that pilots have begun leaving Uzbekistan. The U.S. State Department and Uzbekistan mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Reuters had previously revealed tension in the Uzbek camp, and pilots feared being returned to Afghanistan and killed by the Taliban. The Taliban have said they will not retaliate after taking control of the country in August.

It was not immediately known what would happen to the 46 aircraft, including A-29 light attack aircraft and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, whose pilots flew into neighboring Uzbekistan as ground forces collapsed and the Taliban move to power.

Current and former US officials have told Reuters that the Taliban pressured Uzbekistan to hand over the plane and personnel.

Pilots trained in the United States and other personnel aboard a plane that a pilot passenger said was heading to the United Arab Emirates from Termez, Uzbekistan, on September 12, 2021. The pilots of the Afghan Air Force had fled to Uzbekistan in mid-August, taking a large chunk of The Afghanistan Aircraft Fleet with them. The photo was taken by a pilot who wanted to remain anonymous. Do it through REUTERS.

John Herbst, a former U.S. ambassador to Uzbekistan, applauded the U.S. evacuation effort, saying the United States was telling Afghan pilots.

“I hope we have plans in place to make sure the plane they took off is back in the United States and certainly not back in the Taliban,” he said.

The Taliban did not respond to a request for comment on the Uzbek situation. The group seized planes, including helicopters and drones, as Afghan forces merged last month and called for the return of the plane that left the country before its fighters took power in Kabul. .

Afghanistan’s new rulers have said they will invite ex-servicemen to join the country’s renewed security forces and will not suffer any harm.

This offer sounds like Afghan pilots who spoke to Reuters. Even before the Taliban’s acquisition, the English-speaking pilots trained by the United States had become its main targets. Taliban fighters located them and killed some pilots.

In the Uzbek camp, near the city of Termez, the pilots had described feeling like prisoners, with very restricted movements and insufficient food and medicine.

Hopes began to rise about a week ago, when U.S. officials arrived to do a biometric examination of the Afghans, many of whom fled with only their clothes on their backs.

Reports by Phil Stewart, additional reports by Michelle Nichols and Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Daniel Wallis

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